I was under the impression that Jumbo supermarkets were allowed by the management to take on certain products in that specific supermarket if there was enough of an demand for it. So it's probably worth it to inquire about specific products which you'd like to buy there.

Friesland. I was going goosewatching at the Lauwersmeer with our coincidental mutual friend and her parents. (Or rather, I went up there in the car with them and came back with W. on the train. The stop in Groningen was on the way back home, so technically, my answer to your question should be "Amsterdam".)

_________________Ain't no guarantees in life, and nothing that comes out of my vagina can change that. - Erika Soyf*cker

Have any of you been to Jumbo recently? Today I went for the first time in, er, 8 or more months. So impressed by their vegan products! They have a line of fairtrade goods which includes amazing passionfruit/mango and pineapple juices. Also, a huge collection of fake meats, 3/4 of which are not only vegan BUT also have a giant V = Vegan sticker on them, so you know. They don't have the Alpro almond milk yet, but they do have the soy macchiato, lots of soy creamers, even blueberry and cranberry-flavored syrup (!). And the amazing hummus I know from the US: sabra.

:-( I went to the Jumbo next to the central train station in Leiden today and the amazing selection of vegan meats has not reached this place yet. They just had some of the regular boring Alpro and Vivera options (which I'll admit are not even available in many other supermarkets). No big V = Vegan sticker either.

They did have lots of fair trade products and a good selection of plant milks (rice and almond dream too), though they were almost sold out. Not so many creamers either, but maybe they were sold out too. I'll keep checking when I'm there to see if it improves.

How disappointing! Next time I go to the giant Jumbo here, I'll take pictures to prove to you that the awesome things I talked about really do exist. There are 3 in the area. The newest/closest to me is seriously disappointing. But the other two are great! I hope buyers like theirs move your way soon.

I went back to the giant Jumbo today, and this time actually read the ingredients on all of the labels. (There were too many people there last time.) Sigh. Only the Alpro Soy products are vegan, and they have a huge (V! It's Vegan!) label on the side, where the ingredients are listed. I was impressed because I've never seen them before AND they have such a huge selection. Seriously, easily 1/3 of the giant fake meats fridge.

I personally don't like Alpro Soy milks, or yogurt, but they have something like 6 new flavors in each. There's an Alpro Soy/Provomel section in the dairy, and then, on the eco-aisle, Oatley and a bunch of the other usual EkoPlaza brands. That's where the good not.creamers are.

Also, vegan teacakes in several flavors, Essene bread, sunflower-seed based pate (by Esta, in the usual flavors), organic flours, the cheapest/best maple syrup I've seen in the area, blueberry and cranberry sauce (mixed with maple syrup), maple sugar (!) and quinoa. In the frozen fridges, they have bio fruits and vegan apple pie turnovers in a red box which the vegan prof. swears by (no E numbers or anything).

The selection really varies from store to store - there are 3 in Groningen. The giant is one is great, 1 is pretty good and the other sucks. All, however, carry soya ijs (vanilla or chocolate), which is sweet but has a nice texture, and the crazy/dangerous robuuste koeken.

That definitely sounds good. There is a giant Jumbo near where my parents live, so I'll try to go there when I visit them.

The Leiden Jumbo also had some stuff from the Vivera 100% plantaardig line, which can be recognised from the blue 100% plantaardig (=plant based) label on the upper right corner of the package. They have vegetarian and organic vegetarian products too (with red Vega and a green 100% biologisch labels). Of the 100% plantaardig products, I really like the falafel and the spicy bean burger (too bad the Leiden Jumbo didn't have those). The roerbakreepjes and roerbakstukjes are okay too, but they're basically just re-hydrated TVP, which I can make a lot cheaper myself. The spiced version has too much cinnamon and nutmeg for my taste, it reminds me a little of speculaas cookies, not so great for a meat alternative.

How disappointing! Next time I go to the giant Jumbo here, I'll take pictures to prove to you that the awesome things I talked about really do exist. There are 3 in the area. The newest/closest to me is seriously disappointing. But the other two are great! I hope buyers like theirs move your way soon.

Yes, pictures! Please! Will neer to check out the nearest Jumbo here in Utrecht! :)

It's funny. I'm not too into crackers. My omni bf picked those up for himself and he's gotten into checking ingredients on my behalf and said "Hey, I think these are vegan". I checked, and indeedy do, they are, but I still can't get excited about them. Maybe I just need to taste them. I was more psyched about the pickle chips, which I ate waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too quickly.

Oh, and the Alpro almond milk is YUMMMMMYYYY!!! I hadn't yet found an almond milk that I enjoyed drinking straight up, but this.... Whoa!

_________________Ain't no guarantees in life, and nothing that comes out of my vagina can change that. - Erika Soyf*cker

In the series of store bought vegan pesto: the Albert Heijn puur&eerlijk organic pesto seems to be vegan! It's €2,15 for a decent sized jar. I just bought some, so I haven't tried it yet. Might do roasted potatoes and broccoli with cashew cream pesto sauce tomorrow. Nom nom nom!

I had a mini freakout this morning when I got an e-mail back from Durex answering my question as to why I couldn't find their Avanti Ultima (vegan and latex free) anywhere in stores: they've been taken off the market. I quickly sent an e-mail to Vega-life, asking them when they were getting Glydes (they promised!) and their reply was: they've been ordered and we're waiting for the delivery! Vegan condom buying meet-up in Amsterdam?